Adam looked out the window of the limousine, holding onto Becky's hand. Her thumb grazed the back of his hand, her silent way of comforting him. They'd been sitting in silence outside the school for what felt like ages. Eli and Clare had left the car as soon as they were sure Becky would stay and take care of Adam until he was ready to go inside.
"We don't have to go in," Becky finally said, reaching her free hand up to touch his carefully combed hair, running her fingers through it softly. "We can go back to your place, or my house. Wherever you want."
"Prom is all you've been talking about for months," Adam mumbled, leaning his forehead against the cool glass window.
She instantly felt bad. When the school had announced the date of the prom, she'd expected Adam to ask her. When he didn't, she figured he might have simply assumed they would go together since they'd been dating for a few months. She decided to surprise him by buying their tickets and he started avoiding her between classes.
When she asked Eli why Adam was acting so weird, he told her the whole story about what had happened last year at prom. Adam had told her that he'd gotten shot but he didn't like talking about it and she'd always assumed that it was some sort of hate crime.
"It's just a dance," she finally said. She wanted to go, she wanted to be seen with him by everyone, to hold him close while they danced. After a couple of months of sneaking and lying about who Adam really was, everything was finally out in the open. She wanted the entire school to see how happy they were and she didn't care what anyone thought.
He finally looked at her, sitting back against the leather seat. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure? Adam, if you don't want to, we really don't have to. Just tell me, we can do whatever you want."
"I want to go in. I want to dance with you."
She smiled at him, smoothing his hair that had been flattened against the window. "We can leave whenever you want." She leaned her forehead against his. "If anyone tries to hurt you, they'll have to go through me first."
He smiled, kissing her softly. "Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?"
She fixed his tie, holding it in one hand. "You have, but I don't mind hearing it," he told him before she pulled him toward her to kiss him again.